State to upgrade Baltikuri quarantine centre into a dedicated Covid hospital

Kolkata: The state government has decided to upgrade the quarantine centre at Baltikuri in Howrah converted by Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) into a full-fledged Covid hospital. The building at Baltikuri being a hospital building has the basic infrastructure for such upgradation.

"Now we have come up with a number of safe homes in the city. So there are only a few patients staying at Baltikuri. Moreover, the maintenance cost is also reasonably high. So a policy decision regarding conversion of the centre into a Covid hospital has been taken," said a senior KMC official.

The move comes with positive cases in Kolkata coming down for the last two weeks. In the month of July and in early August, daily positive cases in Kolkata was predominantly over 600 and in some days it had risen to beyond 700.

Presently most of the positive cases that are being detected are asymptomatic and so they are staying in home quarantine. Presently, the number of patients at the 1,000-bed facility is around 60.

"The Howrah Sanjivani hospital is a Covid hospital in the district but considering the situation, another dedicated Covid hospital in Howrah will be a good idea," said a senior Health department official.

KMC has proposed to the state Fire and Emergency Services department to allow 1-metre relaxation for an extra floor in a building situated on not more than 5 cottah land. In the present Fire Act, 4-metre space on either side of a building is mandatory for any further expansion.

A preliminary discussion was held at KMC in presence of Chairperson Firhad Hakim and Fire minister Sujit Bose on Thursday.